Tag Archives: HRW

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa continues insisting things are going well in Zimbabwe and it is time for western nations to provide more aid. Even as he speaks, opposition MPs are arrested on false charges, members of the Movement for Democratic Change are beaten or lose their jobs, and Zuma pretends that Zimbabwe is some sort of fairy land of peace and serenity. Human Rights Watch stated the truth: “the region’s leaders need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos.” Georgette Gagnon of HRW, put it even more bluntly: “South African leaders should stop looking at Zimbabwe through rose colored glasses.”

To Jacob Zuma, President Robert Mugabe was a leader in the fight for independence. Yes, he was, but that was thirty years ago. Since then he has become a kleptomaniac and tyrannical ruler. The past is dead, it is time for Zuma to see the world as it is –today in 2009!

The Western world welcomes the aggressive Pakistan military stance towards the Taliban, but in waiting until now to attack, the Pakistan army has created a vast problem for civilians caught in the midst of war. Human Rights Watch accuses the Taliban for laying mines in a city and using civilians as shields against the Pakistan army. HRW also noted “Pakistani forces appeared to have taken insufficient precautionary measures in aerial and artillery attacks that have caused a high loss of civilian life.” The first Pakistan mistake was turning over the Swat valley to the Taliban without ensuring regular troops were in the area to protect civilians. This allowed the Taliban to consolidate their power and construct defenses.

Over a million people have fled the war zone as Taliban and Pakistan forces increase the ferocity of their attacks. Hopefully, eventually the Pakistan army will push out the Taliban. But, what happens next? Will Pakistan create an effective school system, will the government deal with poverty and discrimination against women?